Chelsea are deep in the trenches of the battle for a top four place and are still in the hunt for a UEFA Conference League trophy this year, but they know to tryly contend next year they will need to strengthen the squad. The best way to do that is to find a striker that can consistently bang in goals to make all that possession worth the trouble.
According to Calcio Mercato, the Blues may be contending with Arsenal for the services of striker Mateo Retegui from Atalanta. The Italian newspaper claims that his “future could be in London” as the Blues and Gunners may be fighting over his signature. That leaves out Tottenham, West Ham, and several other clubs but that’s none of our concern at the moment.
Retegui is leading Serie A in goals scored with 22 goals in 26 appearances and he has another 3 in the Champions League in 10 appearances. He also has 5 assists to his name and is lapping the rest of the league in goals as his closest competiters are Moise Kean with 15 and Marcus Thuram with 13.
There are several things that make Retegui an intriguing option. First is the supposed price he is available for at just £38 million which is half of what the Blues would have to pay for Victor Osimhen from Napoli or Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig. Both of those players are more clinical than Retegui but are they worth double the Italian international?
Retegui is also just 25 years old and could still continue to develop as he hits the real prime of his career. He has only been at Atalanta for one season but was solid at Genoa in 2023-24 as he scored 9 goals in 31 appearances.
The concern is if Retegui is a one season wonder or if he is the real deal considering this is his highest goal total in one of Europe’s top leagues. He did score 23 goals in 41 matches for Tigre but that was in the Liga Profesional in Argentina in 2022.
At worst, Retegui gives Chelsea another option to explore this summer as they look to bolster their squad with goalscorers and a goalkeeper. He is not the flashiest option or the biggest name in world football but anyone that scores 20+ goal in a top European league is worth a second look.
Fans may prefer Osimhen or another big name but sometimes their price tag becomes a hindrance rather than a motivation and that impacts their performance. If Chelsea can make this transfer happen for £38 million or somewhere around there, it would be excellent business for the Blues.